Amid huge optimism for the future of travel to the nation, Fiji has welcomed delegates from around the world to the Fiji Tourism Exchange (FTE) 2023.
Held at the Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort, the Tourism Fiji-hosted event, significantly, mirrors overall tourism to Fiji, which has come back with a bang.
“This year we bring you a bigger FTE than last year … with over 100 buyers, more media, more sellers and more companies,” said Fiji Deputy PM and Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Viliame Gavoka (or “Bill” as he likes to be called in tourism circles), opening FTE 2023.
The return of international visitors would also be a massive relief for the country, whose tourism industry contributes a whopping 40 per cent to the country’s GDP.
Stronger than 2019
“As a country, we take tourism very seriously. Tourism contributes the largest portion of our GDP and it’s the cornerstone of our economic well-being and the economic well-being of many of our people and our communities,” Gavoka said.
“Today, as indicated by Brent [Hill, Tourism Fiji CEO], we have recovered 71 per cent of our 2019 visitor numbers – with higher yields – paving the way for a full return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024. By value, a return of 73 per cent of our tourism earnings.
“If you look at the first quarter of this year – January to March – we welcomed 175,284 visitors, a recovery of over 102 per cent compared to the same quarter pre-pandemic.”
The Deputy PM also said that “hotels are reporting unprecedented bookings”.
“So not only are we recovering, but we are also thriving,” he remarked.
“Our national airline, Fiji Airways, is recording bookings for more seats and more passengers than in 2019, with strong forward bookings looking at the next 12 months.”
Coming together
Speaking via video link, Tourism Fiji Chair Andre Viljoen said, “our goal is to rebuild the tourism industry in collaboration with our stakeholders and partners, aiming to achieve 1 million tourists and a FJ$3 billion visitor spend by the end of 2024”.
“Although it won’t be an easy task, we are confident that it is achievable by working together, especially given the positive trends we are seeing in the tourism industry,” he added.
“Tourism Fiji’s new brand campaign ‘Where Happiness Comes Naturally’ has been a resounding success, with global acceptance and engagement.
“We are committed to continuing to find new and innovative ways to promote Fiji to markets that are open for travel and hosting the Fijian Tourism Expo is an excellent step towards achieving that goal.”
Doubled success
Speaking to media at FTE, Tourism Fiji CEO Brent Hill said “over the previous 12 months, we have achieved double the targets that we set ourselves”.
“Since reopening our doors, we have had the pleasure of welcoming over 900,000 visitors to our beautiful shores,” he stated.
“In fact, next month … we’re going to welcome our millionth tourist to come through the doors at Nadi Airport, which has been incredible.”
Meanwhile, Hill said Australia had been “a really significant market for us”.
But even that could be understating it.
“We were delighted to recognise in December that we had the most Australians that we’ve ever seen in a month in Fiji, and that was in December,” he said, adding later that there had never been more Australians in Fiji than now”.
Happiness Comes Naturally … for visitors too
But it isn’t just the record visitor numbers that are encouraging.
“Tourists are exhibiting a willingness to spend more; they’re staying longer; they’re expressing higher levels of satisfaction,” Hill said.
Supporting this claim, he pointed to independent research that had shown satisfaction levels of 93 per cent.
With “huge” demand for flights and accommodation, the Tourism Fiji boss said that the country didn’t even have a low season anymore.
“So we really only have a very short shoulder season and then peak in Fiji – that’s where we are at the moment.”
And if visitation continues upward, it mightn’t even have a shoulder season either.
Karryon is attending FTE 2023 at the Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort.
For more info on Tourism Fiji, visit its website.
Meanwhile, Fiji Airways has “one to two” more ports on the cards for Australia.